Willow's Child
by boop-oop-ee-doo
Summary: It's Buffy's tenth anniversary as slayer and she is given one wish by the powers that be. Meanwhile, a depressed Willow rescues a little girl from demons. Who is she and why does Willow feel such a close connection to her?
1. One wish

AN: My first Buffy fic. This is set three years after Chosen, the Scoobies are living near the Cleveland hellmouth that Giles mentioned.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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Buffy was returning home from yet another successfull patrol. She walked through the door and almost bumped straight into Willow, who was heading out the other way. She frowned.

"Going somewhere Wil?"

"Just taking a walk" said Willow, giving one of her trademark lopsided grins as she pulled on a jacket.

"This late? Again?" Buffy asked, thinking of how often the witch had slipped off on her own at night in the three years since they had moved to Cleveland, and more specifically, since her break-up with Kennedy, which had happened not long after the move. "If you love late night walks so much you could always come on patrol with me." Willow shook her head, smile fading slightly.

"I kinda wanna be alone Buff" she said, walking out the door. "Dawnie went to bed a while ago. Don't bother waiting up for me."

"Okay" said Buffy, with a hint of concern. "Be careful, Wil. And don't fall asleep under a tree and forget to come home again. You know how totally freaked everyone was last time you did that. Giles almost declared a magical state of emergency."

"I won't. See ya later." The red-head headed off down the street, and Buffy watched her until she turned the corner, then closed the door. She sighed. The slayer was worried about her friend. Around everyone else, Willow appeared to be the same kind, friendly, happy-go-lucky member of the Scooby gang that she had always been. But when she was alone, or thought she was alone, she became a different person. Willow hadn't been happy, Buffy thought, truly happy, since before Tara had died. Sighing again, Buffy, heading to her bedroom, climbed the stairs to the second floor of the house she shared with Willow, Dawn, and sometimes Faith. The dark slayer would turn up on her doorstep at least once every few months, but she never stayed longer than a week or two at a time, no matter how much Buffy tried to convince her to stay. There was no good reason why she shouldn't, because as a reward for her help battling the First Evil, the Watcher's council, along with a little magical help from Willow, made Faith's criminal record non-existent. Buffy entered her room and flopped onto the bed. Suddenly, she and the whole room, were engulfed in a brilliant, blinding white light.

"What the hell?! What's going on?!" Buffy cried.

"Slayer" said a voice, which sounded as though it was coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. "You're tenth anniversary in your position approaches."

"Well, yes, it is actually" Said Buffy, trying to regain her composure, "But who, or what are you, and why do you care?"

"Very few slayers reach this milestone" said the voice. "I am a representative of the powers that be. We are offering you a gift in return for your ten years of service. Slayer, we are offering you one, pottentially life altering wish. You have a week to decide what you want"

The light disappeared as quickly as it had come, and Buffy was left sitting in shock. She shook her head, and took a second to gather her thoughts. All she came up with was this:

"I gotta call Giles"

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AN: Parts of this story are based on Joss Whedon's "wish" idea, but not closely. I've toyed with it a little.


	2. Weeping Willow

Disclaimer:I own nothing.

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Meanwhile, a few kilometres away, Willow was walking through the park, completely unaware of her friend's encounter with the higher powers. As a matter of fact, she was completely unaware of anything. Her midnight wanderings had led the witch to her destination so often that her feet would take her there without having to think about it. When the red-head reached this destination, she stopped. It was a tree. A Weeping Willow, to be exact. As Willow flopped down onto the grass underneath the tree, she gave a small chuckle at how well her name seemed to fit her lately. Not that she physically cried a lot, but she was definitely not the poster girl for perfect happiness. Sighing, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a photograph of Tara. She had a lot of photos of Tara. She had a lot of photos of everyone actually. When everyone was packing their bags with "important stuff" for life after the battle with the First, Willow was more concerned with saving sentimental items: Tara's water-colour pencils, some of her drawings, a singing teddy bear that Tara had given her one Valentine's Day, and a heck of a lot of photos, including one very early picture of the Scooby gang, taken when she, Buffy, Xander and Giles were the only members, and one taken a while later, after Oz and Cordelia had joined. Willow felt a small rush of sadness. Cordelia was another one of the people who had been lost in the eternal struggle between good and evil. Sure, the two girls had never been best friends, in fact it was the opposite, but that didn't mean Willow wanted her to die. She hadn't wanted Jesse, Ms. Calendar, Kendra, or Anya to die either. And not Tara. Especially not Tara.

"But just because you don't want something to happen doesn't mean it won't" said Willow, thinking aloud to herself. She hadn't wanted to have her soulmate snatched away from her, or have all the light ripped from her her life in one cruel blow. She hadn't wanted to go all scary and veiny on her friends, make with the flaying, and try to bring on the apocalypse because of said soulmate-snatching and light-ripping. But those things had happened, and there was nothing she could do to change it. Willow let her eyes fall on the photo in her hands. It was one of her favourites, and she carried it everywhere. It had been taken at the beach, a few months after they had started dating. Tara had just come out of the water, with her hair dripping, and the sun making droplets of water twinkle on her skin. Willow fought back the tears that were threatening to fall and tucked the photo back into her pocket. She stood and began to head home, when suddenly, a tiny figure came bolting down the path towards her, and not looking where they were going, crashed into Willow's leg. It was a little girl, with clothes torn to rags, and flaming hair a similar shade to Willow's. She was staring up at the witch with wide blue eyes which reminded Willow of someone, though she could not think of who.

"Hey" she said, offering the girl a kind smile. "Are you los-" Before Willow could finish her question, she spotted two demons, with blue skin, yellow horns, and long tails bolting up the path in the same direction the girl had come.

"Are those scary guys chasing you?" The little girl nodded, and buried her face in Willow's pants. "Don't worry" said Willow, as the demons approached, "Get behind me, I'll protect you." The girl obeyed, and the demons stopped short, eyes widening in surprise and fear at the sight of the red-headed witch. Willow smirked. Ever since she'd nearly caused the apocalypse, Willow had become just as feared and respected by evil as Buffy was. Taking advantage of their surprise, the witch raised her arm and telekinetically hurled the first demon away, knocking him out on a lamp post. She raised an eyebrow at the second demon.

"Well, are you going to leave peacefully, or do I have to open a can of wiccan woopass on you too?"

"I mean no disrespect, Miss Rosenberg" snarled the demon, taking a fighting stance, "But that child belongs to us."

"She _belong_s with her parents" said Willow.

"I don't gots any parents" said the little girl, clinging to Willow.

"See?" the demon hissed, taking a step closer, "Just hand her over, no one will miss her"

"No" said Willow.

"Okay then. Boys!" suddenly, more demons appeared, surrounding Willow. The little girl whimpered, and Willow's eyes widened.

"Uh-oh, I'm in trouble."


	3. Little Red

Disclaimer:I own nothing.

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As the demons closed in, Willow tried desperately to think of a plan, and she did. Problem was, the success of this plan rested solely on a power she had nowhere near mastered yet. Willow had been slowly developing the ability to fly without being Scary-veiny Willow, but so far she could only hover for a few seconds at a time. However, if she could just stay airborne long enough to float over the top of the demon's heads, she and the girl could make a run for it. Sure, it was a longshot, but the alternative, dying and sentencing this little girl to a horrible life of evil god-know's-what would be much worse. Willow scooped the little red-head into her arms.

"Don't be scared" she whispered, as she closed her eyes, and began to make a running jump. _"I am light as a feather", _Willow thought to herself, _"I am lighter than air. I am-"_

"Like a birdie" said the little girl. Willow opened her eyes, and furrowed her eyebrows, a confused look on her face.

"How did you know what I was- Oh goddess, I'm flying!"

"Like a birdie" the little girl repeated, giggling.

"Yeah" Willow laughed, looking down at the angry demons, as she floated away. "How'd you like that beasties? I'm flying! I'm flying! I'm.. uh-oh" She muttered, as she began to fall to the ground. Willow had known she wouldn't be able to stay airborne for long, but she would have settled for at least the other end of the park. Luckily, she landed on her feet, and wasted no time in running away as fast as she could, which normally was pretty fast, but the weight of the child in her arms slowed her down a little. With the demons trailing a good distance behind, Willow ran out of the park, down the street and onto the road, into the path of an oncoming motorbike, which screeched to a stop, just missing them. Willow kept running, until the bike's owner called after her, using an all too familiar nickname.

"Red?" Willow turned to see Faith, removing her bike-helmet, a confused look on her face. "Since when do you have a kid?" The little girl answered first.

"She saved me." Faith looked more confused. Willow checked to see that the demons were a safe distance behind before launching into one of her trademark rambling explanations.

"Well, I was in the park and then this little girl ran up to me and she was being chased by two demons so I threw one of them into a lamp-post but then the other one said "The child belongs to us" and then there were twenty demons and-"

"Whoa there! Take a breath Red!" said Faith, who had parked the bike by the side of the road. The horde of blue demons bolting up the footpath caught the dark slayer's eye. "I'm guessin' those are the twenty demons you were talkin' about."

"Uh-huh" said Willow. Faith nodded, a serious, battle-ready look coming over her face.

"I got this Red. You just get the kid home safe. I won't be far behind ya." Willow nodded in thanks and kept running.

Meanwhile back at the house, Buffy had just got off the phone to Giles, who, after some research, had confirmed that her visit from the Powers that be, and their offer, was legit. He then gave her a long, boring lecture about how she must use this wish wisely, and continually reminded her that she was not likely to get a chance like this again. Use the wish wisely. That was easy for him to say, he didn't have a potentially life altering wish and no idea what to wish for. And this was why that instead of going to bed as she'd planned, the slayer was waiting patiently for her flame-haired wiccan friend to return home, to see if she had any suggestions. Suddenly, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Buff" came Xander's voice. "I'm sorry to call so late, but is Willow home? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I just saw her run past my appartment building with a kid a few minutes ago."

"What? Why the hell would Willow have-" Buffy was interrupted by the sound of a motorbike through the phone.

"I may only have one eye" said Xander, "but that sure looked alot like Faith on a motorbike covered in demon blood"

"That doesn't really surprise me" said Buffy. "Willow with a kid on the other hand-" the slayer was interrupted again by the red-head in question bursting through the front door, a little girl in her arms. "Uh, I'm gonna have to call you back Xand." Buffy hung up the phone and turned to her friend.

"Willow" she said, in as calm and controlled a voice as she could, "How the hell did you manage to acquire a child in the middle of the night?"

"Demons were chasing her" said Willow, placing the little girl, who had fallen asleep, down on the couch. The familiar sound of a motorcycle engine roared into the driveway, and Faith came sauntering into the house.

"Hey B"

"Hey Faith. I'm guessing you were somehow involved in all of this, being that you're covered in blood and all"

"Yup" said Faith. Willow sighed, gazing at the sleeping child.

"She has no parents, poor little thing. I don't even know her name."

"Lets just call her Little Red until we know" said Faith, turning to Willow. "Because, you know her hair's red. Like yours."

"Yeah, it is" Willow smiled, stroking the girl's soft red locks.


	4. What's in a name?

Disclaimer:I own nothing.

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Willow fell asleep downstairs while watching over the little girl. The next morning, she was woken by the child tugging on her sleeve.

"Hello? Miss magic lady? Wake up" said the girl.

"Oh, good morning" said Willow, stretching. She gave the girl a smile. "You know, in all the excitement last night, I forgot to ask you your name. I'm Willow."

"Nice to meets you Miss Willow" said the little girl. "I don't gots a name."

"Well that's uh..." said Willow, looking puzzled, "That's a little unusual. But not a problem!" she added quickly, seeing the child begin to pout. "We'll just think of a name for you! Hmm.. well, we can't just keep calling you Little red like Faith said, even though that's probably what she'll do..

"Who's Faith?" the little girl asked.

"The lady with the motorbike" answered Willow, still deep in thought. "Um, are there any names you like?" The girls brow scrunched up in thought.

"I like Sophie" she said eventually. Willow froze.

"W-what did you say?" the wicca stammered.

_Flashback_

_"You know, they say that some of the most powerful magic comes from the love between a parent and their child" said Tara, flipping through a magic book while she sat on the edge of the bed. Willow let out a small chuckle, flopping down beside her lover._

_"I don't think that's true with either our parents babe"_

_"Probably not" Tara admitted, "But I thought that maybe if we ever have kids, not right now of course, but sometime in the future that maybe.. well, maybe it would be true for us"_

_"I think it would definitely be true for us" Willow smiled, resting her head on Tara's shoulder. "So, what_ w_ould_ _we call them?" Tara raised her eyebrows._

_"It's a little soon to be thinking about that isn't it?"_

_"Hey, you brought it up" said Willow, "and besides, some people don't come up with a name for their baby for a week after they're born, so it pays to think ahead" Tara nodded,thinking as she began to fiddle with Willow's hair._

_"I like Sophie" she said._

_End flashback_

"Willow? Miss Willow?" The little girl cried, shaking the red-head's shoulder. Her eyes began to fill with tears. "Did I say something wrong? Is Sophie a bad name?"

"What?" said Willow, breaking out of her trance. "No, Sophie's a good name, it's just... never mind, it's a great name, it suits you." Willow meant this. The name did suit her. The little girl, Sophie, smiled, a slightly crooked smile that once again reminded Willow of someone, but she could still not think of who, even though she felt like the answer should be slapping her in the face.

Meanwhile, Buffy was sitting in her room upstairs, still wondering what the hell she was going to wish for, as she'd never had the chance to ask Willow. And seeing how her friend was so preoccupied with her little rescuee, it didn't look like she'd get the chance anytime soon. She sighed and stood up, heading to Faith's room, or rather, the room Faith called a spare room but was known as Faith's room to everybody else, thinking the younger woman might be able to help her with her problem. And even if she couldn't, Buffy reasoned, it was probably worth letting her sister slayer know about the wish, because the same thing might happen to her when her tenth anniversary came up in a couple of years. She knocked softly on the door.

"Faith? You awake?"

"Yeah. Come on in, B" said Faith. Buffy entered the room, raising her eyebrow at the sight of Faith in bright pink pyjamas. "What?"said Faith, looking annoyed. "I needed new PJs and these were all I could afford"

"You could have just borrowed money from Giles or something" said Buffy, sitting on the corner of the bed which her fellow slayer currently occupied. "The Watcher's council pretty much pays for everything for us now"

"I've never been one for takin' handouts B" Faith shrugged, "And I'm pretty sure you didn't come in here to go yappin' on about my pink jammies, so spill"

"Well..." Buffy began.


	5. Attached

Disclaimer:I own nothing.

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"Whoa" said Faith, after Buffy had finished explaining. "That's... that's some big stuff there B"

"You got that right" Buffy muttered.

"So, you got any idea what you're gonna ask for?"

"Not a clue" said Buffy, shaking her head. "I was going to ask Willow if she had any ideas, but seeing as she's a little preoccupied at the moment, I was kinda wondering if you could help me. Any suggestions?"

"Err.. World peace?"

"Faith! This is serious!"

"I was being serious. It's really not that easy thinkin' up ideas for a potentially life alterin' wishes B" said Faith, "Maybe you should call the G-man again and see if he can think of anythin' " Buffy sighed, and shook her head.

"There's not much point. He and Andrew are flying in from London to visit in a few days anyway."

"Why? Oh yeah, almost forgot, it's Red's birthday next week right? Hey, maybe you could do something for her with your wish."

"Maybe.." said Buffy, a possible idea forming in her mind, "But I'll think about it a bit more first."

Meanwhile downstairs, after being filled in on the events of the previous night by Willow, Dawn was in the kitchen helping the witch make pancakes for Sophie, who was in the living room watching cartoons. Suddenly Xander came marching into the house, looking very annoyed.

"Buffy!" he called, "You forgot to call me back last night! You know how I hate being left out of the loop, just because I don't live with you guys anymore doesn't mean I..." he paused in the living room, seeing a little girl on the couch staring at him. "Uh... hi"

"Hi. I'm Sophie. It's very nice to meets you Xander." Xander looked confused.

"How do you know my name?" he asked. Sophie shrugged, turning her blue eyes back to the TV as Willow bounced into the room, covered in what appeared to be flour.

"Hey Xander" she greeted her friend, sounding happier than she had in a long time, "Sophie here's never tried pancakes, so we decided to correct this situation immediately." Xander opened his mouth to ask why Sophie would somehow know his name, and to find out why the hell Willow was running past his apartment with a kid in the middle of the night, but was interrupted by Buffy and Faith coming down the stairs, having heard him calling.

"Hey Xand, sorry I didn't call, there was just so much going on last night and I got distracted."

"That's okay Buff, but now would somebody _please_ explain to me what the hell was going on last night?"

"Well, it's like this Xan-man" said Faith, "for some reason that I don't know, Red was walking in the park in the middle of the night and ended up rescuing Little Red over there from demons. Demons called back up, Red grabbed the kid and ran, I turned up to save the day... did I miss anything?"

"No" said Willow, "I think that pretty much covers it."

"Pancakes are ready!" called Dawn from the kitchen.

"Good" said Xander, heading into the kitchen, "I haven't had breakfast yet."

"And I haven't had a decent breakfast since last time I was here" said Faith, following him. Willow was about to take Sophie and follow as well, until Buffy pulled her aside.

"So, do you know the kid's name yet?"

"Uh..." said Willow. She didn't know how to explain that strictly speaking, the girl didn't have a name and they had just made one up.

"It's an easy question Will" said Buffy, "Either you do or you don't." Willow thought for a second, before deciding to say a half-truth.

"Sophie. Her name is Sophie." Buffy nodded.

"Well, we better take her down to Child services later today"

"What? No!" Willow cried. "What if the demons come after her again?" Sophie, who until now had been happily enjoying the antics of Spongebob Squarepants, leapt off the couch, running over to hug Willow's leg as if she had somehow sensed what the conversation was about.

"Please don't makes me go away!" she cried, "I wants to stay with Willow!"

"It's okay sweetie" said Willow, lifting the child into her arms and hugging her, "Don't cry, Buffy didn't mean it, did you Buffy?" she gave the slayer a slightly cold stare, and Buffy sighed.

"She can stay until we find out why the demons wanted her, but then we need to get her back to where she belongs. Just... try not to get too attached Will"

"I won't" said Willow, even though she knew it was already too late.


	6. Shared dreams

Disclaimer:I own nothing.

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"So" said Buffy, explaining to Faith and Xander about her earlier conversation with a certain red-haired wicca, "I told Will we should take Sophie to child services and she totally freaked out on me. But what else are we supposed to do? I mean, it's sad that she's got no parents, but we can't just keep her." Xander nodded in agreement, but Faith, sitting with her knees pulled up in front of her on the couch, just stared at her feet, apparently deep in thought.

"Faith, what do you think?" asked Buffy. The dark slayer looked up, meeting the blonde's eyes.

"I think I'm gonna have to go with Red on this one B" she said. "I've been part of the foster care system and let me tell ya, it ain't pretty. Sure, you could be lucky and get put with someone that actually cares, but chances are you'll just end up with some bastards who are only in it for the money. Or if you're _really_ lucky, you could be like me and wind up with the psychos who just wanna feed you to their Vampire son."

"Whoa!" said Xander, his one remaining eye widening. "No wonder you were so messed up!"

That night, as Willow tucked Sophie into bed in another of the house's spare rooms which was conveniently located just across the hall from her own, her eyes fell on a drawing the little girl had done earlier that day. She had let Sophie use Tara's pencils, which had earned the wicca another warning from Buffy about not getting too attached, but she ignored her. The drawing showed one tall red haired figure, which Willow assumed to be herself, holding the hand of a smaller figure, whom she guessed was Sophie. A blonde figure who for some reason looked vaguely familiar was holding Sophie's other hand.

"Sophie" Willow asked, pointing to the picture, "Who's this?"

"The lady who was singing to you in my dream" said Sophie, yawning. For the second time that day, Willow froze at the child's words.

"Um, do you know what she was singing about?"

"I don'ts remember" said the girl, snuggling deeper into the bedclothes as she began to drift off. "Something abouts being under a spell.." Willow felt a lump in her throat. She stood and slowlybacked out of the room, careful not to wake the now sleeping Sophie. The girl had dreamt about Tara last night, and, coincedentally, so had Willow.

"But that's all it is," the witch said to herself as she entered her bedroom and began changing into her pyjamas. "Just a weird, freaky, Sunnydale-ish coincedence." With that thought, Willow climbed into bed, completely unaware that another "weird, freaky Sunnydale-ish coincedence" was only a few hours away...

_A gunshot is heard, and Willow's shirt is splattered with blood._

_"Your shirt.." whispered Tara, falling to the ground._

_"Tara?"..._

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Sophie screamed, pulling Willow from one of her frequent nightmares. She leapt from her bed and bolted into the little girl's room, finding her wailing at the top of her lungs.

"Sophie!" Willow yelled over the girl's cries, rushing to pull the child into her arms, "Sophie, what's wrong?"

"They shooted Tara!" she wailed, "they shooted the nice singing lady!" Willow pulled Sophie closer to her, letting the child cry into her chest. Whatever was going on here, it was no coincedence.

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AN: Hey, thanks to everyone for reviewing! For Faith fans, she has a little sub-plot coming up, so keep reading!


	7. Mind reader

Disclaimer:I own nothing, except Sophie.

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Willow was still trying desperately to calm the screaming Sophie when Buffy entered the room, followed by Dawn and Faith.

"What's wrong with her?" Buffy yelled, as Dawn, who had also taken a shine to the little girl, partly because her presence meant Dawn wasn't the baby of the household anymore, rushed to help Willow comfort her.

"Well that's pretty damn obvious" said Faith, "The poor kid's had a nightmare B." Faith looked to the crying child, then to Willow, and her normally tough expression softened slightly. "Try singin' to her Red" she said, "That helps sometimes."

"Sing?" asked Willow, "But I have no idea what to... actually..." she paused, leaning closer to Sophie's ear, and began singing so softly that the others couldn't hear. "_I'm under your spell, nothing I can do, you just took my soul with you. You worked your charm so well, finally I knew, everything I dreamed was true. You make me believe._" The song seemed to calm the little girl, and her screams soon subsided, being replaced by quiet sobs.

"That worked well" said Dawn, surprised. "What did you sing to her?"

"Does it really matter?" said Willow, standing up with Sophie still in her arms. "I'll take her back to bed with me, just in case she has another nightmare." Buffy gave the wicca a stern look.

"Willow" she warned.

"I'm not getting too attached" Willow protested, though she subconsciously clutched Sophie closer to her chest. "That's just what you're supposed to do when a kid has a nightmare, right?"

"I guess so" Buffy sighed.

"Right. Goodnight everyone" Willow left the room. Buffy sighed again, and began heading back to her room. Faith and Dawn followed suit.

"Hey Faith" said Dawn as they reached their rooms, which were next to each other, "How did you know that singing would help?"

"It doesn't matter" said Faith, a little defensively. "Just go to bed Pipsqueak"

Meanwhile, in Willow's room, she had just tucked Sophie into bed and was climbing in beside her.

"Willow, was you in loves with Tara?" the little girl asked suddenly.

"Um.. well.." Willow paused, wondering if she should really explain a concept like being gay to a three-year old. Sophie couldn't be much older than three, four at the most. But Willow didn't feel like she could lie to the little girl, so she didn't.

"Yes" she answered, "I was very in loves.. love with Tara."

"But then the bad man shooted her?"

"Yeah" said Willow, feeling a little uncomfortable. She didn't want this conversation to lead into what she had done after Tara's death, so she changed the subject, asking a question which had plagued her since earlier that night.

"Can you read people's minds Sophie?"

"Whats do yo mean?"

"Do you know what other people are thinking?" said the witch, simplifying her question. Sophie thought for a moment.

"You, sometimes." The little girl yawned, snuggling closer to the woman lying beside her, her heavy eyelids beginning to close. "I knowed you were going to help me get away from the scary guys, and I knows... I knows you're worried about getting too attacheded to me when Buffy tolds you nots to..." Sophie trailed off, asleep, and Willow found herself absent mindedly stroking the little girl's hair.

"You got that right kiddo."

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AN: Awww! I really like how I'm writing the Willow-Sophie relationship. What do you guys think?


	8. don't ask Faith personal questions

Disclaimer:I own nothing, except Sophie.

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"Has anyone seen Faith? I've checked everywhere for her" said Buffy, entering the kitchen where Sophie, Willow, and Dawn sat eating waffles, which Sophie had also never tried. "She hasn't left without saying goodbye again has she?" _Because if she has, I'm gonna be majorly pissed_, Buffy thought to herself. _She could have at least stayed until I'd sorted the whole wish thing out._

"She's still here" said Sophie through a mouthful of waffles. Buffy raised an eyebrow at the little girl.

"How do you know?" she asked. Sophie pointed out the window, where Faith's motorbike sat in the driveway.

"Oh, right. Well, where is she then?"

"She did act a little weird last night after I..." Dawn began, before trailing off.

"After you what?" Buffy asked, half dreading the answer.

"It doesn't matter" Dawn mumbled.

"Dawn, what did you do?" Buffy growled, anger rising.

"She's going to get it out of you eventually Dawnie" said Willow, as she helped Sophie pour syrup on her waffles, "You should just tell her." Sophie nodded.

"You should always tells the truth"

"Okay" Dawn took a deep breath. "I asked her why she thought singing would help Sophie."

"Dawn!" Buffy yelled. "How many times do I have to tell you not to ask Faith personal questions? It makes her feel uncomfortable!"

"Sorry" said Dawn, "I didn't think it was that personal." Buffy sighed.

"I better go look for her. Dawn, you come with me since this is you're fault."

"Okay" Dawn grumbled. The sisters headed for the door, then Buffy turned back to Willow.

"Oh Will, I almost forgot, Xander couldn't get the time off to pick Giles and Andrew up from the airport today, so you'll have to do it. Their flight gets in at two, don't forget"

"I won't. See ya, Buff."

"Who's Giles and Andrew?" Sophie asked after the slayer left.

"They're our friends from England. They're coming to visit so they can be here for my birthday next week" Willow explained, smiling.

Meanwhile, Faith was walking through a nearby graveyard, deep in thought. After Dawn had asked her about the singing, the dark slayer's first instinct had been to hop on her bike and ride as far away as possible. But then she remembered B needed her help with the wish, and somehow she just couldn't bring herself to bail on her sister slayer.

"There I go again" Faith muttered to herself. "Actin' like I'm all dependable, when I know I'm anythin' but." She was letting herself get too close to the Scoobies, that was the problem. When you let yourself get close to people, when you let them depend on you, and let yourself depend on them, eventually, somebody's going to get hurt. Somebody always gets hurt. Suddenly, Faith's slayer senses kicked into overdrive, and she spun around, finding herself face to face with three demons the same as the ones that had Sophie.

"Where is the child?" the first demon growled. Faith cocked an eyebrow at them.

"You really think I'm gonna tell you?"

"If you do not give us her location we will have no choice but to kill you" said the second demon. Faith laughed, having already taken a fighting stance.

"Give it your best shot."


	9. Search

Disclaimer:I own nothing, except Sophie.

* * *

"Buffy!" Dawn scolded her older sister, who had become distracted by a display of half-price shoes at the mall, "We're supposed to be looking for Faith!"

"Right, sorry" said Buffy, her mind returning to the task at hand. "Let's get going."

"I don't even know why the hell we came here in the first place" Dawn grumbled. "Faith hates going shopping."

"No she doesn't, not really" said Buffy. "It just kind of frustrates her that she can never afford anything. Not anything she really wants, anyway. And one time, before she went rogue and joined The Mayor, I heard her talking to Mom about how she didn't have enough money to buy me a birthday present" Buffy paused, her voice softening. "She sounded really upset about it actually. I wasn't supposed to hear. I'd just got out of the shower, they had no idea I was there."

"Okay" Dawn shifted, feeling a little un comfortable and wanting to change the subject. "Where do we look next?"

"Hmm. If I was Faith, where would I go.. oh god, I'm such an idiot!" said Buffy smacking herself on the forehead.

"Why?" asked Dawn, puzzled.

"The graveyard!" Buffy yelled, sprinting for the exit. "That should have been the first place we looked!"

Meanwhile, Willow had taken Sophie with her to the airport to pick up Giles and Andrew. She was worried that Buffy and Dawn were taking so long to return from their search for Faith, but if she hadn't left she wouldn't have made it to the airport in time.

"Don'ts worry Willow" Sophie had said in the car, reading the mind of her wiccan companion. "Buffy will be okay, she always is."

"I know she will sweetie" Willow had replied, smiling at the little girl. Now the pair were sitting in the airport waiting patiently for Giles and Andrew to arrive.

"Oh there they are!" Willow cried happily, waving at her former mentor and his new mentee. "See Sophie, the man with the glasses is Giles, and the guy having trouble with his suitcase is Andrew." Sophie looked confused.

"I thought you said Giles was your friend."

"He is" said Willow, not understanding what her young friend was getting at.

"But he looks too olds to be your friend Willow" said Sophie. "He looks more like a daddy."

"Well, he is kind of like a daddy," Willow laughed, "to me and Buffy, to everyone really. Giles!" she cried happily, throwing her arms around the Watcher, who was now standing in front of her. Andrew was walking a few metres behind, still struggling with his suitcase.

"Hello Mister Giles" said Sophie, hugging the man's leg. Giles raised his eyebrows at the little girl.

"And who might you be?" he asked.

"My name's Sophie. Willow saveded me from some scary demon guys."

"I sure did!" the wicca smiled. "Buffy wanted to take her to child services, but I said we should keep her with us until we know why the demons wanted her."

"Yes, of course. Good thinking Willow" said Giles, pulling his thoughts away from trying to remember who this admittedly quite gorgeous child was reminding him of. "Well, let's get on then. Hurry up Andrew, it can't be that heavy."

Buffy sped into the graveyard, lungs burning. With her slayer speed, she had left Dawn behind long ago. Ever since the battle with the first the slayer bond between Buffy and Faith had been stronger than ever before. Buffy knew something was wrong, and it didn't take her long to discover what it was. Her worst fears were realised when she spotted the Dark slayer's unconscious form crumpled on the ground.

"FAITH!" Buffy screamed, bolting forward and dropping to her knees beside the younger girl. "Faith, come on, wake up! Faith!"


	10. The Runaway

Disclaimer:I own nothing, except Sophie.

* * *

"Faith, come on, please!" Buffy yelled, shaking the younger slayer. Faith's face was scratched and bruised, and blood trickled from her nose and the corner of her mouth. It occurred to Buffy that if the dark slayer died she could use her wish to... No, she shook these thoughts from her mind. Faith was not going to die. She couldn't. "Damn it, Faith! If you don't wake the hell up right freaking now I swear I'll.." she was cut off when the brunette's eyes fluttered open. Buffy let out a sigh of relief.

"B?" Faith groaned, "Did you get 'em?"

"Get who?" Buffy asked, helping the younger girl to a sitting position. "Faith, what happened?"

"Demons" said Faith, "Like the ones we rescued Little Red from. There were only three of 'em at first, but they just kept comin', and soon there were too many, even for me." At that moment, Dawn ran into the graveyard, puffing.

"Buffy, why do you always have to leave me.." she paused, eyes widening as they fell on the battered dark slayer. "Oh my god! Faith, are you okay?" she cried, running to help Buffy pull Faith to her feet.

"I'm fine, Pipsqueak. Should be good as new in no time, that good ol' slayer healin' works wonders."

Back at the house, Sophie was sitting on Giles knee while she, Andrew, and Willow sang along to various cartoon theme songs. Then Buffy and Dawn entered the house, supporting Faith who had a slight limp.

"Good Lord!" cried Giles, passing Sophie to Willow and leaping from the couch. "Girls, what happened?"

"Demons, the ones who'd kidnapped our little house guest, who I'm sure you've met by now" said Buffy.

"Yeah" said Faith, "They wanted to know where she was, but of course I didn't tell 'em." Sophie heard this, and her eyes filled with tears. She ran to the dark slayer, wrapping her small arms around her leg.

"I'm sorry!" she wailed. "I'm sorry you got hurted because of me!" Willow leapt up to comfort the little girl, but this time, Faith beat her to it.

"Whoa there, Little Red" she said, wincing as she crouched to meet the girl's eye level. "Now you listen, and you listen good. This is not your fault, okay kid? The only ones we have to blame for this are those demonic bast.. "

"Faith!" Willow hissed.

"Bad guys" Faith corrected herself. "Those demonic bad guys. It's their fault, so don't go blamin' yourself, okay?" Sophie nodded, although she didn't look completely convinced.

"Right" said Buffy, "Well, now that that's sorted, we better get Faith upstairs so she can rest."

A few hours later, Buffy walked into Faith's room, carrying two plates loaded with pizza. "Hey" she smiled, "Nobody felt like cooking, so we ordered pizza." Buffy handed a plate to Faith, and was relieved to see that her cuts and bruises were already beginning to fade.

"Thanks B" said Faith, taking a bite of the pizza. Buffy sat on the edge of the bed, looking deep in thought, a fact that did not go unnoticed by her sister slayer. "B?" said Faith, reaching to wave a hand in the blonde's face when she didn't respond. "Hey, Earth to B!"

"What? Oh, sorry" said Buffy, turning to the younger woman, "I was just thinking."

"About what?" Faith asked. "The wish?" Buffy shook her head.

"No. You, actually."

"Me? What about about me?" asked Faith, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Well, I was kinda wondering why you're still here. I mean, with Dawn asking you about the singing, because that type of thing usually sends you running for the hills, so.. why'd you stay?"

"Oh" said Faith, shifting a little uncomfortably. "Well it's kinda 'cause of the wish thing. I mean, ya still need my help workin' out what to do with that right? Any ideas?"

"Not one" Buffy grumbled. "You?"

"Nope" said Faith, smirking slightly, "But I think we should seriously reconsider world peace because..." she was cut off as a certain blonde slayer threw a pillow into her face.

Late that night, Sophie lay wide awake beside the sleeping Willow. The scary demon guys had hurt Faith because she wouldn't tell them where she was. What if they hurt Willow too? _"I don't wants anybody to hurt Willow" _the little girl thought to herself_, "She's my bestest friend in the whole world. But if she gets hurted, it'll be all my fault_." There was only one thing to do. She had to get away from Willow, far away where nobody could find her. Sophie wriggled out from under Willow's arm, careful not to wake the sleeping witch. She took Willow's shoulder bag from where it hung on the door and emptied the contents, re-packing the bag with her few meagre belongings. One set of clothes, the pencils Willow had given her, and a few of her drawings. The little girl's eyes then fell on the framed photograph that sat on the bedside table. A photograph of Willow and Tara. It would be nice to have a photo of Willow, and even though she had never met Tara, for some reason she wanted a picture of her too. Sophie took the photograph, stuffing it into the bag, and replaced it with the picture of herself, Tara, and Willow that she had drawn two days before. Grabbing the bag and heading for the door, Sophie took one last look at the sleeping red-head wicca.

"Goodbye, Willow. I'll never forgets you."


	11. DON'T BLAME THE KID BUFFY!

Disclaimer:I own nothing, except Sophie.

* * *

From the second Willow woke the next morning, she could sense that something was wrong. She felt around on the bed next to her, and realised Sophie was missing. The Wicca sat bolt up right, trying not to panic. Maybe the little girl had just gone to the bathroom.

"Sophie!" she called. "Sophie, where are you?" Willow paused when she noticed her shoulder bag missing from its usual place hanging on the doorknob, and its contents strewn over the floor. "Sophie, this isn't funny!" the witch cried, panicking as she looked under the bed before beginning to search through the closet. "If you're hiding somewhere you better come out right now Missy!" Willow then noticed the absence of the photo of herself and Tara that had taken pride of place on her bedside table since the Scoobie's move to Cleveland three years ago, and the familiar drawing that lay in it's place. Suddenly, the events of the previous night came rushing back to her, in particular Sophie's anguish at the thought that the demons had hurt Faith because of her, and the girl's look of disbelief when the dark slayer tried to convince her otherwise.

"She's run away" Willow said to herself, gasping in realisation. "She wants to protect me." The witch's eyes filled with tears. "I'm the adult, I was supposed to be protecting her!" Willow shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes. This was no time for crying. She had to find Sophie before the demons did. Quickly dressing, the wicca bolted downstairs, finding Giles, Andrew, and Dawn in the kitchen eating breakfast.

"Okay everyone, Sophie's run away so we have to go look for her right now!"

"Oh dear" said Giles, standing and cleaning his glasses while Dawn and Andrew rushed to dump their dirty dishes in the sink. "What on Earth could have possessed the precious little thing to run away?"

"I think she thinks she's protecting me from the demons" Willow explained. "She doesn't want me to get hurt like Faith did. Now, I'll go call Xander and ask him to help and one of you guys can go wake Buff-"

"Buffy's not here" Andrew interrupted "She went to the store because.. well, she didn't tell us why exactly. I think she mentioned Faith needing something."

"And she left her cell phone behind" said Dawn, the annoyance in her voice mirroring the feelings of everybody else in the room.

"Well, we'll just have to leave her a note then" said Willow. "I'll call Xander and then we can get going."

A little while later, Buffy returned, carrying a shopping bag containing a new pair of pyjamas for Faith. The pink ones seriously didn't suit her and Buffy wanted to do something nice for her to thank her for sticking around. Feeling the familiar tingle of the slayer bond, she opened the door to see Faith hobbling towards it still sporting a noticeable limp, a small piece of paper scrunched in her hand.

"Faith! What the hell are you doing?" Buffy cried, dropping the bag and running to the younger slayer. "You're supposed to be resting!"

"Not anymore I'm not" said Faith, pushing the paper, a note from Willow, into Buffy's hand. "Little Red ran away. We've gotta go help the others look for her."

"Well that's just great. This is the last thing we need" said Buffy, crumpling the note after she'd read it. "That kid's caused nothing but trouble"

"Hey, don't blame the kid B" said Faith quietly feeling a strange surge of anger, as she pulled on her jacket and continued heading towards the door.

"But it's true! I mean, things would be a whole lot easier if Willow'd never.." That did it. For some reason, Faith snapped.

"I SAID DON'T BLAME THE DAMN KID BUFFY!" She screamed, causing the other slayer to start, which calmed Faith down a little. "You cant go around blamin' kids for shit that ain't their fault 'cause if ya do they'll start turnin' out like me. And that's when stuff like this happens to 'em" she lifted her shirt, exposing the thin scar on her stomach. Buffy closed her eyes, looking away. She preferred to forget that that stage of their relationship had ever happened.

"Faith, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.."

"Forget it, B. Let's just get goin'" she tossed Buffy a spare motorcycle helmet. "We'll cover more ground if we take the bike."


	12. Taken

Disclaimer:I own nothing, except Sophie.

* * *

"Faith!" Buffy yelled above the roar of the bike's engine, subconsciously tightening her grip around the dark slayer's waist as they sped through the streets, "Can't we slow down a bit?" Faith laughed, and sped up.

"Come on, B, live a little!"

"I do live! I just try to live in ways that won't get me killed... Again!" The two slayers rode in silence for a few minutes, before Buffy spotted a familiar car. "Faith, stop!" she cried. Faith laughed again.

"Not a chance, B"

"No seriously, stop!" Buffy yelled, "I just saw Xander's car.. ahhh!" she let out a small scream as the other slayer spun the bike around unexpectedly, tires screeching.

"Where?" Faith asked looking around.

"J-just back there, out the front of that park" said Buffy, still a little shaken by their vehicle's sudden swerve. Faith nodded, driving the bike back towards the park and stopping beside Xander's car.

"This is a big park B, we better get a move on if we're gonna catch up to Red and the others"

"Yeah" Buffy replied quietly. The chosen two began walking through the park in a slightly awkward silence, which Buffy eventually broke. "Faith, about before-"

"I said forget it, B."

"I know, but I just wanted to say sorry" said Buffy. "I didn't mean to upset you, I didn't know.. I just didn't know."

"So let me guess" Faith sighed, "Now you've said sorry with that little emotion filled speech you're probably hopin' that i'm gonna open up to ya and spill all all the sad details of my crappy childhood."

"No!" said Buffy, "I mean, not if you don't want to. But if you do, that's cool too, I mean if you ever want to talk about anything you know you can come-"

"Buffy" Faith interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up. You're startin' to sound like Red when she gets her babble on."

"Oh my god, you're right!" Buffy laughed. "That was so Willow!" The thought of her witchy friend reminded Buffy of why she and her dark counterpart were here in the first place, and her laughter subsided. "Seen any of them yet?" she asked, looking around.

"Nope. No sign of Little Red either." The two slayers continued walking in silence, this time out of convenience rather than awkwardness. Buffy was looking around searching for any sign of her sister and friends, while Faith, still limping, dropped behind a little, becoming lost in her thoughts. Maybe it would help to talk to Buffy, get some stuff off her chest that had been weighing heavily on her for a long time. The psychologist she'd been forced to talk to in prison had always forced the importance of talking about things. Faith had ever bought any of that, possibly because the only person she could have talked to back then was an ensouled vampire, but now she was thinking that there might be something to it. She opened her mouth to speak when..

"Buffy!" Called Xander's voice.

"Xander!" Cried Buffy, running to her friend, "What happened?" Giles, supporting a black-eyed Andrew walked behind him, as well as Dawn who was sporting an obviously broken wrist. Xander seemed reasonably unharmed in comparison. But where was..

"They took her, Buffy" said Xander, his voice shaking. "The demons took Willow."


	13. See you soon Sophie

Disclaimer:I own nothing, except Sophie, who I'm sure you'll all be happy to see reappears in this chapter. Yay!

* * *

Meanwhile, curled up underneath a bridge on the far side of the park, which the demons had prevented Willow's search party from reaching, Sophie tossed and turned in her sleep, dreaming unpleasant dreams. She knew something was wrong...

_Sophie ran through her dark and unfamiliar surroundings, looking around frantically._

_"Willow!" the little girl cried into the darkness. "Willow, where are you?" She dropped to her knees and began to sob. Something had happened to her friend, she could sense it. Something bad had happened to Willow, and it was all her fault._

_"Hey, don't cry" said a voice, as Sophie felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into a kind face framed by long, blondish-brown hair, with deep blue eyes and a sweet lopsided smile that mirrored her own. "Hi Sophie. Do you know who I am?" The little girl nodded._

_"You're Tara, the nice singing lady Willow loves. Tara, Willow's in big trouble, I think the scary demon guys gotted her!"_

_"I know, but it's going to be okay" said Tara, as she offered her hand to the little girl. "Would you like to come for a walk with me, Sophie?"_

_"Okay" said Sophie, taking the witch's hand. As the pair walked, their dark surroundings dissapeared, being replaced by a beautiful forest, teeming with life._

_"Whoa" said the little girl, looking around before gazing at Tara in awe. "Did you do that?"_

_"Uh-huh" said Tara, smiling._

_"But how?" asked Sophie, amazed. "Is you an angel?" Tara laughed._

_"Well, kind of, but that's not how I made the forest, sweetie. I could make the forest because I'm a witch."_

_"Like Willow?"_

_"Yes" said Tara, her tone suddenly becoming serious, "Like Willow." The wicca crouched to meet her young companion's eye level. "Sophie, I need you to be a big girl and do something very important for me, okay?"_

_"Likes What?" asked Sophie, confused._

_"I need you to find Willow for me."_

_"How?" said the little red head, her eyes widening. "I won'ts know where to start looking!"_

_"Trust me, you'll know" said Tara, placing a finger over the little girl's heart. "You'll feel it, in here. You just have to find her, then Willow will be able to handle everything else herself, okay?"_

_"Okay" said Sophie._

_"Good girl" said Tara, giving her a hug. "See you soon, Sophie."_

The little girl slowly began to wake, feeling very confused. How was Tara going to see her soon? She was in heaven, wasn't she? Sophie pushed these thoughts aside as she glanced at the photo she'd been hugging to her chest, remembering the task at hand.

"Don'ts worry Tara, I'll find Willow, I promise"


	14. Revelations

Disclaimer:I own nothing, except Sophie.

* * *

Willow feeling extremely groggy, slowly began to wake. Her vision was blurred, her head was throbbing with pain, and she could feel a warm, sticky substance trickling from her forehead down her cheek. She tried to feel where it was coming from, but something was preventing her from moving her arms. What had happened? The last thing she remembered was a voice crying out her name as she'd felt a sharp pain in her head. Giles? Dawn? No, Xander. Yes, it was definitely Xander. She could tell because the cry was just a little more anguished than it would have been coming from anyone else, due to the fact that Xander cared about her just a little more than anyone else. As her vision began to clear, Willow surveyed her surroundings, discovering that she was chained to the wall of a dark cave. Somewhere, voices were whispering.

"This whole thing is useless" hissed one voice, "She's never going to tell us where the girl is"

"We don't need her to" said another, more authoritative voice. "The child is psychically and spiritually bound to the witch, as I always feared would happen if they were to come together. None the less, it shall prove useful now, as that bond will inevitably lead the girl here" The voice paused. "Our guest is awake." Willow heard footsteps, and then a group of demons, the same ones that had been causing the Scoobies a huge pain in the ass for the past couple of days, emerged from another part of the cave. The largest one gave Willow a grin that sent shivers down her spine.

"Hello, Miss Rosenberg. You are uncomfortable, I trust?" It grinned again, causing Willow another shiver, but she quickly recovered, glaring at the demon.

"I'm not telling you where Sophie is, but you already know that." She had decided not to mention that the little girl had run away, because then, of course, the demons would go looking for her, and no way in hell was Willow going to put Sophie in more danger than she already was.

"How cute, she named it!" another demon cackled. Willow's eyes narrowed.

"Sophie is _not _an it!" the witch growled. "She is a human child!"

"Well, that depends on your definition of human" said the first demon, "You see, this child- Sophie, as you call her- was not born naturally." Casting a glance at Willow to see her reaction, it saw the wicca raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"She was created, from magic." The demon paused. "From a part of you, as a matter of fact."

"Me?" said Willow, eyes widening.

"Yes, you and that other witch. The dead one, who's name escapes me..."

"Tara" Willow choked out, a lump forming in her throat.

"Yes, now I remember. You were at you're most powerful while you were with her, so for our purposes, it made sense that she should make up the other half of the child's DNA"

"So.." said Willow, as realisation dawned. It all made sense now. Sophie's eyes were Tara's. Sophie's adorable lopsided smile was Tara's. How had she not seen it before? "So Sophie's our.."

"She is not your anything!" another demon snarled. "She is a tool to be used by us in a ritual to steal your magic and bring that power under our control. _"Okay" _Willow thought, feeling the anger bubbling up inside her. _"Now I'm really mad. As soon as I get out of these chains, those demons are so dead."_

"How dare you?" Willow growled. "How dare you bring a child, _my _child_,_into the world just so you can use her to steal my magic?!" However, the witch's anger quickly turned to panic when she heard familiar footsteps, and a just as familiar small red-haired figure appeared, wielding a stick.

"Gets away from Willow you big meanies!"


	15. The Most Powerful Magic

Disclaimer:I own nothing, except Sophie.

* * *

"Sophie, get out of here!" Willow yelled as the demons rounded on the little girl. "It's dangerous!"

"I just founded you!" The little girl cried, backing up against the wall as the demons approached. "I can't leaves you now! I maked a promise!" Willow, helplessly struggling against the chains that bound her to the wall, briefly wondered who Sophie could have made a promise too, but she pushed these thoughts away, as there were more important matters at hand.

"Sophie, please, get out of here now!"

"No!" Sophie stubbornly repeated. "I promised, and you never breaks a promise!" She swung her stick at a demon who was getting too close, and it roared in anger.

"Stupid brat!" The demon growled as it raised a clawed hand and smacked Sophie across the face, knocking the little girl to the ground. Sophie's brave front crumpled and she began to cry, a sound that made Willow's heart ache.

"Leave her alone, she's just a little girl!" Willow cried, as she continued to struggle against the chains. She tried pulling at them telekinetically, but it was useless. The wicca knew that both she and her newly discovered daughter were in trouble. Big trouble. Trouble of Big bad-like proportions. This would be an excellent moment for Buffy to conveniently burst in and make one of her impeccably timed rescues. But she didn't. They would need a miracle to get out of this now_. "Please" _Willow thought to herself, her head bowed. _"Gods and goddesses and Powers that be and anyone who's listening. Please, help." _Thankfully, somebody out there was listening, because suddenly, the chains began to glow, and for a few seconds, Willow felt incredibly safe and warm, then the chains disappeared, causing her to fall to the ground with a thump. Knowing that there was no time to marvel at what had just happened, Willow stood and telekinetically hurled one of the demons at the cave wall, distracting the others from their pursuit of Sophie.

"I thought you said those chains were resistant to magic!" one demon hissed at the largest demon, who appeared to be the leader.

"I thought they were!" it replied, turning to Willow. "How did you escape?"

"Call it maternal instinct" said Willow. "Ever seen those documentaries on Animal Planet? You should never stand between a mommy and her baby, so if I were you, I'd get away from this mommy's baby right now or else you probably won't live to tell the tale."

"Is that so?" said the demon, smirking as he gestured at the others to turn and face her. "And how are you going to do that?"

"Umm.." said Willow, as the confidence she'd had just seconds before quickly faded. How was she going to do that? She really hadn't thought this plan through. At that moment, Sophie got to her feet, bravely ducking and weaving through the demons legs as she ran to Willow, taking the witch's hand.

"You can beats them Willow, I knows you can!" Willow felt an enormous rush of love for the little girl, and with it came a rush of power. She could almost hear Tara's voice whispering in her ear.

_"They say the most powerful magic comes from the love between a parent and their child." _Willow did love Sophie. She loved her more than anything else in the world, and she'd felt that way even before she'd discovered that the little girl was her daughter. Sophie had shone a kind of light into her life that she had thought she'd never have again after she lost Tara. And now Willow also knew that in Sophie, a little piece of Tara had been given back to her, which made her love the little girl even more. The wicca looked down into the blue eyes she had loved so much in Tara, eyes that she adored just as much in their daughter. A small bruise was beginning to form on the little girl's cheek.

"I can beat them, but I need a little help. Don't let go of my hand okay?"

"Okay" said Sophie. Willow closed her eyes, concentrating, while Sophie balled her free hand into a fist, shaking it at the demons. "Scary demon guys, prepares to be hurted very very badly!" The demons laughed for a second, but soon stopped, eyes widening. Forming in front of Willow was a large ball of the purest magic they had ever seen, and it was growing larger by the second. The demons stepped backwards, becoming frightened. The ball began to split into many smaller balls. The demons ran, but the balls of magic scatttered and chased the demons, seeking out and destroying every last one.

"Yay!" Sophie cried, jumping into the air. "You did it Willow, you did it!"

"No, we did it" said Willow, smiling happily as she scooped the little girl into her arms and spun her around. "Want to know the really cool thing I found out today?"

"What?" Sophie giggled.

"I found out I'm your mommy!" Sophie's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Uh-huh" Willow nodded. She stopped spinning, and her smile faded slightly. "Tara was your mommy too. I'm going to make sure you know everything about her, okay?"

"Okay" said Sophie. Willow hugged her daughter tighter, unaware of the two slayers arriving belatedly to the rescue who had witnessed this exchange. Faith turned to Buffy, who was surprised to see her dark counterpart's eyes watering.

"Buffy" Faith choked, "The wish, I think you should.."

"I know" said Buffy. "In fact, I feel like a complete idiot for not thinking of it before."


	16. The Powers Return

Disclaimer:I own nothing, except Sophie.

* * *

Buffy walked further into the cave, drawing the attention of her wiccan friend.

"Buffy!" Willow cried, her slightly sombre face breaking into a smile, "Gee, you couldn't have got here, oh, about twenty minutes ago when the demons were trying to kill us?"

"Sorry Will" said Buffy. "I probably would have been here if it wasn't for Miss Limpy over there." She gestured at Faith who was hobbling over, occasionally wincing, her limp noticeably worse.

"Ooh, that looks bad."

"I know" said Buffy, frowning. "I tried to get her to go home with Xander and the others, but you know Faith."

"Yeah" said Willow. "Is everyone okay?" She readjusted Sophie's position. The little girl was beginning to fall asleep, sucking her thumb while her head rested on her mother's shoulder. Buffy was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt at some of the things she had said about the little girl. Faith, feeling something amiss with her sister slayer, saved her from explaining about the others, wiping her eyes beforehand so Willow didn't notice that she'd been crying.

"Pipsqueak broke a wrist, and Andrew got a little beat up, but that's nothin' new. Xander and the G-man are fine."

"Good. Um, guys, there's something I have to tell you about Sophie.."

"We know, Red" Faith cut her off. "Heard you talkin' about it when we came in."

"Yeah" said Buffy, shifting uncomfortably. "I'm really sorry about not treating her that well. You know if I'd known she was yours I never would have.."

"It's okay Buff" Willow smiled. "You've got plenty of time to make up for it now right? You can be Auntie Buffy!"

"Yeah, I'd like that. Um, if you don't mind me asking, how did Sophie, uh.. happen, exactly? And what happened to the demons?"

"Can I explain later?" said Willow, glancing at the now sleeping child in her arms. "As you can see, Sophie's a little tired so I kind of wanna get her home."

So Buffy, Faith, Willow and Sophie began to head home. Willow walked a bit ahead of her friends, because Buffy hung back offering support to the injured Dark slayer.

"For god's sake Faith, your knee's swollen up like a football! You should have let Xander take you home!"

"Thinkin' that I was leavin' you to face those demons by yourself? No way in hell, B" said Faith. "We're pretty much equal in strength right? If I couldn't hold 'em off chances are you couldn't have either." She paused, waiting for her words to sink in before changing the subject. "Now that that's outta the way, what ya waitin' for B? Call the Powers and make ya damn wish already!"

"I don't think it works that way Faith" Buffy sighed. "The Powers that be control, well, everything. I'm pretty sure I have to wait for them to come back to me, and they said I had a week."

"So, they should be back on Friday night then, right?"

"Yeah. I guess there's one upside to that."

"What?" Faith asked. Buffy's face broke into a wide smile.

"It's Willow's birthday on Saturday."

Once they were back at the house, and Willow had tucked Sophie into bed, the witch explained to Buffy, Faith, and the others exactly how Sophie had come to be, and how, with Sophie's help, she had defeated the demons. After getting over the initial shock of these revelations, Xander hugged Willow, declaring himself Sophie's favourite uncle.

"Oh my god, she really is yours, isn't she?" Dawn squealed, running to join the hug. "She's got your hair, and Tara's eyes! I'll babysit whenever you want!"

"I knew the dear little thing reminded me of someone" Giles smiled, also joining the hug. Andrew, for no apparent reason, joined in too. Buffy, however, didn't. She'd already said everything she needed to say to Willow regarding Sophie, so she remained in her place on the couch beside Faith, who "Didn't do hugs". The Dark slayer, her bad leg currently propped up on a stool, leaned closer to Buffy, winking as she whispered:

"Best is yet to come, hey B?"

"Yeah" Buffy smiled.

The next few days passed agonisingly slowly for Buffy, but thankfully there were no further demonic incidents. Willow spent most of her time with Sophie, showing her old photo albums filled with pictures of Tara, and going shopping to buy her clothes and toys. This was not unusual. In fact, it was only to be expected. The thing Buffy did find unusual during those few days was that Faith was still around. The wish had been sorted out, so Buffy had expected her sister slayer to be up and away as soon as her leg was healed, which had only taken a day once she'd settled down and actually rested it. But no, the Dark slayer was still here. She'd even gone out on patrol a couple of times. But Buffy didn't mention this, knowing that if she did, Faith would run, and despite their somewhat troubled past, Buffy liked having the younger girl around.

Finally, Friday night came. It was late, and Buffy and Faith were the only ones awake. Faith stretched, yawning sleepily.

"I'm gonna hit the sack, B. Big guys probably want ya on your own anyway." Faith began heading up the stairs.

"Night, Faith. Oh, I left something up there for you." The Dark slayer raised her eyebrows.

"What?"

"Just something I thought you needed" Buffy replied. "I got them the day Willow was kidnapped, and completely forgot about them until this afternoon."

"Oh. Okay then. Night, B." Faith continued continued up the stairs, and into her room. Neatly folded on the corner of the bed was a pair of black pyjamas. The top showed a picture of a teddy bear sitting on a motor bike, and the pants were covered in miniature versions of the same image. A note lay on top of them.

_Faith,_

_Pink is so not your colour. These are a lot more "you"._

_B._

Faith gave a small chuckle as she changed into her new pyjamas, which, she had to admit, were a lot more "her".

"Thanks, B."

Meanwhile, back downstairs, Buffy was still waiting for return visit from the Powers. Eventually she felt herself become once again enshrouded in an all encompassing white light.

_"Your time is up, slayer" _came the familiar voice. _"What is your wish?" _Buffy took a deep breath.

"I wish to ressurect Tara Maclay."


	17. The Greatest Birthday Present Ever

Disclaimer:I own nothing, except Sophie.

* * *

"Wake up, Mommy Willow, wake up!" cried Sophie, jumping on her mother's bed. "It's your birthday, and Auntie Buffy says she gots a big surprise for you!" Willow cracked one eye open, glancing at the cloc. 7.30am. On Saturday. What the hell did Buffy think she was playing at?

"It's too early, baby" Willow yawned. "Tell her I'll be down later."

"But she said it's important!" said Sophie, pouting and crossing her arms. "Everybody else is already awake, and Uncle Xander comed over!" Willow sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Why would Xander be here at 7.30 in the morning? Something was definitely going on here. She sighed, climbing out of bed.

"Okay, I'm up."

"Yay!" Sophie cried, grabbing the wicca's hand and dragging her out of the room. "Hurry, Mommy Willow, everyone's waiting for you!" As she reached the bottom of the stairs, Willow was greeted by a chorus of "Happy Birthday To You" from everyone. They all seemed to have unnaturally large smiles on their faces. "_Ok, __seriously, what is going on?"_Willow thought to herself. She didn't have time to dwell on this however, as she was suddenly bombarded with presents. She received books from Giles and Andrew, some spell supplies from Dawn, and a few DVD's of old Bollywood movies from Xander. Sophie slid off Xander's lap (He had cemented his position as Sophie's favourite uncle, but the role of favourite auntie was still open) and crawled into her mother's, presenting her with the piece of paper she was clutching.

"I drawed you a picture, Mommy Willow. It's our family, see? There's you and me, and Auntie Buffy, and Auntie Dawn, and Auntie Faith-" the Dark slayer flinched, but Sophie, not noticing this, continued. "-and Uncle Xander, and Uncle Andrew, and Mister Giles." Sophie then pointed at a figure standing on a cloud floating above the others. "And there's Mama Tara, watching over us from heaven." Willow's eyes began to fill with tears.

"It's beautiful sweetie, thank you." Noticing the witch's eyes beginning to water, Faith nudged Buffy.

"Looks like Red's about to turn on the waterworks, B. I think now's probably a good time to bring out the surprise." Buffy nodded in agreement, standing up.

"Okay Will, ready for your surprise? Come stand here, in front of the kitchen door."

"Um.. okay" said Willow. _"What type of surprise could they possibly hide in the kitchen?"_

"Now close your eyes" Buffy instructed. Willow obeyed, then heard Buffy knock lightly on the door and whisper "We're ready" before the door creaked open. "You can open your eyes now. Happy Birthday, Will." Willow opened her eyes, her jaw dropping at the sight before her.

"Mama Tara!" Sophie cried, running to the blonde, who scooped the little girl into her arms, beaming. "You comed back from Heaven!"

"Uh-huh. Auntie Buffy brought me back with her special wish. I told you you I'd see you soon, didn't I?" Tara paused, her face becoming concerned as she spotted the purple bruise on Sophie's cheek. "Where'd you get that bruise, baby?"

"One of the demons hitted me after I founded Mommy Willow" Sophie explained. "But Mommy Willow got hurted worser 'cause she gots a cut on her head, only you can't sees it very well 'cause she hided it under her hair." Tara glanced at Willow, who was still standing in open-mouthed shock, before puttting Sophie down.

"You go sit back with Uncle Xander for a minute, I have to talk to Mommy Willow." As Tara turned and smiled at her with the lopsided smile she loved so much, Willow finally managed to speak.

"I'm sorry" she mumbled, "It's just.. I've dreamed this so many times but when I wake up you're always.. Oh Tara!" The red-head ran to her soulmate, sobbing into her chest.

"It's okay" Tara whispered, planting a soft kiss on Willow's forehead as she stroked her hair comfortingly. "It's okay, I'm not going anywhere." As the red-head's sobs subsided, Tara slowly lowered her lips to Willow's, gently parting them with her tongue. Willow wrapped her arms around Tara's neck, not caring that everyone was watching, or that Faith was wolf-whistling, as she deepened the kiss. All she cared about was that she had her soulmate back, and not just in a dream. Tara was here. She was real. She was alive. However, one thing was troubling the wicca, and she broke the kiss, pausing to catch her breath.

"Not that you aren't the greatest birthday present ever baby, cause you are, and now all my future presents to Buffy are gonna seem really stupid to me, but are you okay with this? I mean, when Buffy came back-"

"Willow.." Tara tried to cut in.

"She was all depressed and secretly resented us for pulling her out of Heaven-"

"Willow.."

"And then there was all that stuff with Spike.." Tara sighed, finally cutting her lover off with another kiss.

"Willow, you're babbling. And you don't have to worry about me being pulled out of Heaven.."

"Why?" said Willow eyes widening. "You weren't in Hell were you?!"

"What? No, don't be stupid" said Tara, laughing. "I was in Heaven, but it was different for me than it was for Buffy" she explained. "I mean, it was cool seeing my mom and all, but I could never really be happy anywhere you're not. And now we have Sophie too, and she needs both of us." Willow hugged Tara tighter, trying not to cry again.

"I've missed you so much, Tara. I love you."

"I love you too, Willow. Like I said, I'm not going anywhere." They stood silently for a moment, until Sophie tugged on Willow's pants.

"Mommy Willow, if Mama Tara's back from Heaven, do we gets to be a real family now?"

"You betcha, kiddo!" Willow smiled, lifting Sophie into her arms, her smile widening as Tara tickled their daughter's stomach, making the little girl giggle. She handed Sophie to Tara, before moving to hug a certain blonde slayer.

"Thank you Buffy" she whispered. "I don't know what else to.. Thank you."

"It wasn't all me" said Buffy. "Faith helped." At that moment, Dawn piped up.

"Um, now that you mention it, where is Faith?"


	18. I Need You

Disclaimer:I own nothing, except Sophie.

AN: Warning, this chapter contains mild references to child abuse, and some swearing.

* * *

Buffy's eyes gave a quick scan of the room, confirming Dawn's observation that the Dark slayer was indeed absent. She slapped a hand to her forehead, knowing exactly what the problem was. Happiness had always been a Faith repellent.

"I better go look for her" said Buffy, pulling away from Willow's hug and bolting out the door.

"Um.. Should we help her?" Tara asked.

"No" said Xander. "With anything Faith-related, it's best to just let Buffy deal with it. They've got that whole slayer bond thing going on."

"Okay then. Well, I was in the kitchen for awhile, so I made some pancakes" Tara smiled, turning to Willow. "I didn't know if you wanted funny shapes or rounds, so I made both since it's your birthday."

"Great, Tara-pancakes!" Dawn cried, happily skipping into the kitchen. "I know Willow's not the only one who's missed those!" Xander, Andrew, and Giles followed, Andrew pouting a little.

"No-one gets that excited when I cook something."

"Well, you never came back from the dead after four years" said Xander. After the three men had left the room, Sophie asked her mother's:

"Did Auntie Faith run away 'cause she doesn't wants Auntie Buffy to know that she loves her like you loves each other?"

Sprinting outside, Buffy only just managed to stop herself from falling off the front porch. She had half expected that she would have to chase the motorbike down the street, so she was surprised to find Faith, her cheeks stained with tears, leaning against the bike and clutching a helmet, as if she had not quite decided what she was going to do. As Buffy approached, the Dark slayer spoke without looking up.

"Little Red hit the parental jackpot, hey B? Just turned up out of the blue, and Red loved her, even before she knew the kid was hers. Blondie in there turns up and loves her just as much. My Mom had nine months to get used to the fact that I was comin' along, and she still didn't want me. And why should she? After all, it's my fault her life was shit. It was my fault we could never afford anythin'. It was my fault if my Mom's boyfriend tried to touch me, I was probably leadin' him on. Know how old I was when she told me that? I was eight. Eight fuckin' years old, B!"

"Oh, Faith.." said Buffy reaching out to place a comforting hand on Faith's shoulder, but was shrugged off.

"My Grandma was the only one who cared 'bout me. Used to sing to me when I had nightmares. She died babysittin' me when I was five cause I never got taught to call an ambulance. First my Grammy, then my Watcher, then The Mayor. Everyone who cares about me always ends up dyin'. I'm better off on my own. No-one really wants me around anyway."

"That's not true. I want you around, Faith."

"I know ya do, and that's the problem" said Faith, finally looking up. "No-one's ever cared enough to make it hard for me to leave before, B, I've never cared enough. But you, you and the Scoobs.. You make leavin' hurt, B"

"Then stay" said Buffy taking a step closer to the younger slayer.

"Whoa there, B" said Faith, feeling a little flustered. "I don't think you should.." She tried to take a step back, but the bike stopped her.

"Sophie got it right in that drawing, Faith. You're a part of our family" she stepped closer again, so that their bodies were almost touching. "You belong here, with us.. with me. When you leave it hurts me just as much as it hurts you, and I don't think I realised why until just now. I don't just want you around, I _need _you around. I need _you_, Faith." Before the Dark slayer could respond, she felt Buffy's lips meet hers, initiating a passionate kiss, which Faith found herself eagerly returning. She had no other choice. Faith needed Buffy as much as Buffy needed her.

Meanwhile, two recently reunited wiccan lovers watched from the window.

"I guess our little girl was right" said Willow, her eyes wide in surprise.

"Guess she was" Tara smiled, taking one last look at the Chosen two before turning back to Willow, pulling the redhead towards her. "That looks like fun."


	19. Making Up For Lost Time

Disclaimer:I own nothing, except Sophie.

* * *

"Hey, lovebirds!" Xander called to Willow and Tara, "The pancakes are getting cold.." he trailed off, his one eye registering what was going on outside. "Oh my god!" he yelled, running to the window, forcing Willow and Tara to part so he didn't crash into them.

"What is it Xander?" asked Giles, poking his head out of the kitchen.

"It's Buffy and Faith, they're.." he blinked, to be sure his eye wasn't deceiving him. "They're making out!"

"What?!" Yelled Andrew and Dawn in unison, running to join Xander at the window.

"Good Lord" mumbled Giles, cleaning his glasses.

"Oh my god they really are making out!" cried Dawn. "I so did not see that coming!"

"Sophie did" said Willow, smiling at her daughter as she waved at them from the kitchen, her face covered in a sticky mess of maple syrup and pancake crumbs.

"Well, sometimes kids are just better at seeing the little things than we are." said Tara, wrapping her arms around Willow's waist, and smiling her lopsided smile. "And sometimes, little things mean more than the big things ever could." As Tara leaned in to kiss her, Willow smiled, knowing exactly what she was talking about. When she and Tara had first held hands so they could move the vending machine and keep the gentleman from reaching them, Willow knew she had felt something special. Little had she known at the time, it was just the beginning of something amazing.

Outside, Faith and Buffy finally broke apart, the need for oxygen becoming too great.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to stick around for a bit" said Faith, grinning. She snaked an arm around Buffy's waist as they began walking back towards the house. "Besides, Little Red needs at least one cool aunt. I can be the one who gives the kid candy when Red and Blondie say no, and let's her stay up late when we babysit." They walked inside, seeing Xander focusing extremely hard on the TV, and Andrew whistling. Buffy sighed.

"You saw us through the window didn't you?"

"Uh.. yeah" Xander admitted. Faith cocked an eyebrow at him, smirking.

"Enjoy the show Xan-man?"

"Um, well, uh..." Xander murmured. Andrew snuck into the kitchen, thankful that the two slayer's attention was not on him..

"Well, you better get ready for a repeat performance," said Faith, pulling Buffy closer and lowering her lips to hers, "'cause I plan on kissin' B a lot from now on."

The rest of the day was mostly spent with the gang just being together, like the family they were. After they got over their initial shock, everyone was happy for Buffy and Faith, with Giles saying that nothing the girls did should really surprise him anymore. Andrew was a little awkward around Tara, but once the kind wicca had assured the Watcher-in-training that she didn't blame him for what Warren had done, and she fully accepted that he was now on the side of good, Andrew relaxed, and the pair had united to rescue the other Scoobies from Buffy's attempt at baking Willow a birthday cake. After that crisis had been averted, Tara sat looking through photo albums with Sophie sitting on her knee and Willow snuggled up to her side, listening patiently as her little girl "Helped" her remember where she was what she had been doing in each and every photo.

That night, after they had put Sophie to bed, Willow and Tara stood watching their daughter sleeping.

"She's really ours. It's amazing, isn't it?" said Willow softly.

"Yeah" Tara smiled.

"You know, it scares me to think about what would have happened to her if she'd never found me that night in the park."

"I know."

"Those demons had her for three years, Tara that's three years we have to make up for." Tara nodded, and the two witches stood watching the sleeping child for a few more minutes, before Tara began planting a trail of kisses down Willow's neck.

"We have time to make up for too" she whispered.

"Um, Tara.." said Willow, trying desperately to maintain some coherent thought, "Maybe you should just .. stop that, for a second..."

"I know about Kennedy, and I don't care, if that's what you're worried about."

"No" said Willow, letting out a small gasp as Tara reached her collarbone. "I just think we should move out of here, 'cause you're kinda making me wanna do things to you that would be really inappropriate while we're still in our three-year old's bedroom..." Tara paused, grabbing Willow's hand and heading for the door, blushing, embarrassed with herself for getting carried away.

"Good point, baby"


	20. Someday

Disclaimer:I own nothing, except Sophie.

AN: This will probably be the last chapter, but I do have a sequel planned, as well as my next fic, a Buffy-fied Beauty and the Beast, with Tara as Belle and Dark Willow as the Beast, being told to Sophie as a bed time story.

* * *

A little later, Faith crept out of her own room, heading towards Buffy's. She paused, smirking slightly at the noises that could be heard coming from Willow and Tara's room, before continuing. She knocked lightly on the door.

"B" she whispered. There was no answer, so she knocked again. "B, you awake?"

"I am now" came Buffy's slightly annoyed voice. Faith quietly entered the room, feeling a little guilty about having woken her new girlfriend up.

"I, uh, need to talk to you about somethin'" Buffy's expression softened slightly when she saw that Faith looked worried.

"You haven't changed your mind about staying have you?"

"No... not unless you've changed your mind about wantin' me to"

"Of course not" said Buffy. She threw the covers back and scooted over, patting the empty space beside her. "Come here." Faith recoiled a little.

"I'm not tryin' to get into ya pants here, B."

"I'm not trying to get into yours either" said Buffy. "I thought we could cuddle."

"Cuddle?"

"Uh-huh" Buffy nodded, patting the empty space again.

"Um.. okay" Faith slowly walked over to the bed and climbed in beside Buffy. Buffy slid closer to Faith and wrapped her arms around the younger slayer's waist. She planted a quick kiss on Faith's lips before laying her head against her chest.

"Okay, what did you want to talk about?"

"Well," Faith began, "you know all that stuff I said before about everybody who cares about me dyin?"

"Yeah."

"Promise me you won't. I need you to promise me you won't die, Buffy."

"You know I can't promise that, Faith" Buffy sighed, looking into the brunette's watery eyes, and placing a comforting hand on her cheek. "Our lives are dangerous, unpredictable. I can't promise you I won't die anymore than you can promise me you won't."

"I know that B" said Faith. "It's just.. last time you died, no-one really knew or cared how I felt about it, 'cause I was in Jail at the time, but it hurt, B, physically hurt. It felt like a part of me was bein' ripped away, and I knew you were gone. So I screamed, B. Everyone must have thought I was goin' crazy, but I couldn't help it, I fell to the ground and just started screamin'. Then I just felt kind of numb, and it never got any better until you came back. I lost ya once, B, I don't think I can do it again." Buffy pulled Faith into a passionate kiss.

"I can't promise you that I won't die" she said after they had broken apart. "We'll just have to promise each other that we'll do our best to live."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the house, Willow and Tara lay in each other's arms, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking.

"I missed this" Willow sighed happily.

"What, sex?" asked Tara, smiling.

"No, although that's great too. But it's the Tara-snuggles afterwards that I really missed." Tara nodded.

"You know, Willow-snuggles are pretty good too."

"Yup. And you know what else is good?" said Willow, grinning as she leaned closer to the blonde, "Smoochies."

"Of course," said Tara, leaning forward as she prepared to capture the redhead's lips with her own. "Can't forget the smoochies." The two wiccas shared a long, emotion-filled kiss.

"I love you, Tara" Willow whispered after they parted. "I really, really, love you."

"I really, really, love you too, Willow" said Tara, reaching out to tuck a few loose strands of red hair behind her lover's ear.

"Kennedy never really meant anything..."

"It's okay, Willow, you don't have to explain anything to me" said Tara. "I was dead, and you needed someone.."

"I needed you" Willow corrected her. "But I couldn't have you, and Kennedy somehow made me feel better, at least for a little while. But she couldn't replace you. No-one could ever replace you in my heart, Tara."

"And no-one could ever replace you in mine. I was always with you, Willow, always. Even in death I was yours. Who do you think let you out of those chains in the cave a few days ago?"

"That was you?" said Willow, eyes widening.

"Partly me" Tara admitted. "Cordelia helped me out a little, being one of the Powers and all."

"Cordelia's one of the powers?" Willow's eyes widened further, and she let out a small chuckle. "Wow, look out world, Cordy's in charge!" The two witches fell silent, and eventually, Tara fell asleep. Willow watched her for awhile, taking in the steady rise and fall, of her chest, listening to her occasional sleepy murmurs. The signs that she was truly alive. But it was late, and before long, Willow too had drifted off.

_"Higher, higher, Mommy Willow, push me higher!" Sophie giggled. They were at a playground, and Willow was currently pushing her daughter on the swing._

_"Okay, baby, hold on tight!" Willow smiled, pushing the swing. Sophie squealed in delight as she soared into the air. However, she became bored after a few more pushes, and went to play on the slide instead. Willow looked up at Tara, who was sitting at at a picnic table not too far away. She was bouncing a small blonde-haired baby dressed in little pink overalls on her knee. "Hang on" Willow thought to herself. "Where'd that baby come from? Come to think of it, Sophie does look a little bigger than I remember her.. Am I in the future?..."_

At that moment, Willow woke, finding Tara propped up on one elbow, watching her.

"Morning, sleepyhead" she smiled. "Have any nice dreams?"

"Yeah, I did" Willow replied, smiling as she sat up.

"Morning, Mommies!" Cried Sophie, skipping happily into the room and forcing Willow to quickly grab the sheets and cover herself. Sophie looked at her mothers strangely. "How come you don't gots any clotheses on?"

"Um, well, we were, uh..." Willow tried to explain, her cheeks turning as red as her hair.

"Sometimes mommies do, uh, special mommy things without their clothes on, sweetie" said Tara.

"Oh. Okay" said Sophie. Willow let out a sigh of relief. Tara was a natural at this.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry you guys!" Dawn yelled, rushing into the room and grabbing Sophie's hand. "I was watching her, but she ran off on me. I'll just take her back downstairs. We'll watch TV, really loud, in the basement!"

"It's okay Dawnie, leave her with us" Tara laughed. "We're getting up now anyway."

"Okay, if you're sure" said Dawn, leaving the room. Tara glanced at the piece of paper in her daughter's hand.

"What's that baby?"

"I drawed a picture of my dream" said Sophie.

"That's nice" said Willow, patting the bed. "Come up here and show us." The little girl crawled onto the bed, settling between her mothers.

"There's me on the swing, and that's Mommy Willow pushing me" she pointed out. "And there's Mama Tara with a baby." Tara's eyes widened slightly.

"I had that dream too!"

"So did I" said Willow, smiling. "Our little girl's a mind-reader. She used to only be able to read me, but I guess now it works with both of us. Then again, maybe it always did, because it only happened when I dreamt about you." Tara nodded slowly, taking in this information, then smiled.

"So.. we all saw that baby, huh?"

"Uh-huh" Sophie replied.

"Well, who knows?" said Tara, "Maybe someday we'll find a way to make her real."

"Someday" Willow agreed, resting her head on her soulmate's shoulder. "We have all the time in the world."


End file.
